Guile Heroes in Tabletop Games.
- In tabletop RPGs, while storytelling-oriented Game Masters tend to leave these things to players, there often are classes or character builds which are oriented towards smarts and talk. The bard could be a Dungeons & Dragons example, due to high Charisma score.
- Canonically, Justin Xiang Allard from BattleTech is regarded as one of the best Mechwarriors of his time… but not through any factor of speed or personal fortitude. He is, however, one of the most cunning warriors ever shown in the series. In his main appearances:
- He is first shown fighting a 'Mech twice with twice his size and hideous amounts of firepower… and almost wins by destroying its engine, except it pulled a trick he didn't expect.
- He next is shown in the Gladiator Games fighting a faster enemy with effective short-range weapons while he is slower, using a new 'Mech among other things, and armed mostly with long-range weapons with a minimum range. He wins by unexpectedly firing some of his weapons ahead of his enemy, tricking him into pulling up short and right into Justin's sights.
- Justin next fights in a battle where his machine is slower and has less armor and long-range firepower, and he is riding a 'Mech known to have unreliable weapons… so he tricks his foe into closing into close range, having equipped a very-short-range BFG beforehand that visually resembles the unreliable weapon. He annihilates his enemy's 'Mech in two shots.
- Now that his modified 'Mech is a known variable, his next enemy (his first foe defeated in the games, as mentioned earlier) attempts to pilot a model of 'Mech that crippled Justin, which still has greater range and more firepower than his machine, and even manages to disable the BFG early on. Attempting to use the tactic that maimed Justin, the other pilot is tricked into shooting Justin's main gun more… only to reveal that his 'Mech can literally punch through his enemy's back.
- Facing a skilled champion who cheats dirtily, he overcomes the trap by summarily destroying two of his ambushers by hitting from an unexpected position and dealing a Humongous Mecha Groin Attack. He knows that his rival will try to shoot him from behind… and marches into the obvious trap area backwards so that he presents strong armor to his enemy, who he overcomes.
- At one point, it's mentioned he won a battle by tricking the enemy commander into making a bad maneuver by giving a false report, using the enemy nation's native language to convince him that it was legitimate.
- Finally, when he is tasked to face an old friend in combat, he once again allows his enemy to fire on him as he closes, knowing that while his foe is piloting the same model of machine, his BFG can quickly overcome his enemy's armor, and his former friend did not pay enough attention to the Gladiator Games to remember the change Justin had made until it was too late.
- Notably, when he was once tasked to go in a straight-up open fight with no chance for mind games or sneakiness, he lost handily to his son, who while a Guile Hero himself is also considered a naturally gifted pilot in terms of raw skill.
- Outside of combat, Justin's story involves perhaps one of the biggest and most complicated scam operations in the history of the Inner Sphere — through a combination of exile, injury, and disgrace, he comes into the employ of the mortal enemy of his former liege lord. For several years he plays the role of a quisling, helping said enemy, Chancellor Maximillian Liao, make small but noticeable advances against Hanse Davion, his former lord. It all comes together at the end of the entire ploy, where the advantages Liao thought he had gained proved to be vulnerabilities instead, essentially getting Liao forces steamrolled in a very short, very one-sided war where all of Liao's weaknesses were set up by Justin's advice and machinations to Chancellor Liao... as he was in fact still loyal to Hanse Davion, and taking this entire mission on orders from Davion.
- Exalted: while anyone with a high Manipulation would qualify, Changing Moon Lunars (especially Tamuz), the less malevolent Fiend caste Infernals, and Starmetal caste Alchemicals are engaged in a three-way proxy war to see who gets the crown… with the Sidereals sitting back to see who wins and working on strategies to manipulate any one of them. It's also the hat of Eclipse Caste Solars, who are less about "guile" than they are about More than Mind Control.
- The idea of the Face build in Shadowrun.
- The Face class in Spycraft.
- In Warhammer 40,000, Inquisitors blur the line between this and Magnificent Bastard. The best, most loyal Inquisitors are this — though they are willing to sacrifice millions, that's their plan b. The difference between what makes a good inquisitor and what makes a bad inquisitor is the bad ones make sacrificing millions their plan A. Mind you, 40k does follow Rank Scales with Asskicking, and Inquisitors are THE authority in the Imperium so they aren't pushovers in a fight. In practice, they tend towards Action Hero too, or at the very least have someone to do that for them.
